Pre-Listing Inspection Playbook: A Seller’s Guide

What if you could read the buyer’s inspection report before the buyer does? A pre-listing inspection gives sellers that head start, along with something that’s hard to find once a home is under contract: time to think. Whether you’re preparing a mid-century ranch in Las Vegas, NV, a century-old brick home in Cincinnati, OH, or a bungalow in Birmingham, AL, the roof, wiring, and plumbing often become the focus of a buyer’s inspection. This pre-listing inspection playbook walks through how to time the inspection, read the report, and decide what to do with the findings. What is a pre-listing inspection? A pre-listing inspection is a home inspection ordered by the seller before the property goes on the market. A licensed inspector reviews the major systems and structure, including the roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and signs of moisture. The point isn’t perfection. As Campbell Haigh of Team Haigh Realty puts it, “A pre-listing inspection helps eliminate the unknown before you’re already under contract and working against someone else’s timeline. If we know about an issue before the house hits the market, the seller has choices: repair it, get additional information or e...